pineslog | ( march event ) mad skillz

EVENT: MAD SKILLZ

The flyers were everywhere. Slipped into mailboxes and taped to windows, these yellow sheets of paper are more than ready to catch a few eyes. That parking ticket you thought you got, tucked under your wiper blade? Nope, that's another flyer. (It goes without saying that each public trash can holds at least a few.)

Honestly, it's nearly impossible to live in the town of Wayward Pines and not know of the Skills Fair being hosted in a park north of where most of you live on this upcoming Saturday. Whether or not you choose to attend is entirely up to you.

Venture toward the park on 3rd and Alder anytime between 11 AM and 5 PM, and a colorful assortment of tents will greet you, from which drifts the buzz of conversation and a small assortment of downright delicious smells. The first few tents - the largest by a decent margin - are the food court and the sign-in desk for anyone looking to teach. It's far from mandatory, but a volunteer from the tent makes a lap every so often to make note of those who didn't sign up, for a full list of skills that newcomers can show up and learn. The food court hosts your typical limited variety of BBQ and pseudo-cultural foods, good for a quick bite and respite from a long day of sharing skills.

The rest of the park hosts a scattered grid of smaller tents and booths in varying colors. At first glance, they seem to be free for use - even since you've arrived, one or two people have strolled in off the street to set up one booth or another with relevant teaching supplies. Feel free to claim one for yourself, or maybe just stroll through the park and see what there is to be learned.

Taped to a tree or tent every so often is a request for those offering to teach any excessively loud or alarming skills (like firearm proficiency) to take their pupils to the makeshift shooting range set up two blocks north for the occasion. It's nothing special, a series of near-pristine targets in an unnecessarily large area taped off with bright yellow safety ribbon, but it's more of a shooting range than the town had before. Any other skill in need of some sort of target is also welcome to use the range, if they need it. In fact, it may be a wise alternative to trying to teach knife-throwing or archery in the park; below the request is a warning, stating that in the case of any injuries sustained at the Skills Fair, deliberate or accidental, the individual who caused the wound will be held responsible as if they committed assault. If that's not incentive to be a little more careful, what is?

Additionally, on the side of the sign-in tent and pinned to a tree facing each of the surrounding streets is a copy of the Official Notice, framed and enlarged at 1.5x, in case anyone might forget.

Might want to keep it in mind. You never know who might be listening.

MOD NOTES

This is a catch-all for any and all threads pertaining to the Skills Fair!

PLEASE INCLUDE IN SUBJECT LINE: Character Name, Skill Being Taught if applicable, and Open or Closed, to help keep things a bit more organized. (For example: "Joe Biden | Teaching: How to become a meme | Open!")

If you have any questions regarding this event, feel free to ask them here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( izumi wants to just solve a boring rubik's cube in five seconds. the other parts did nothing for him. let him live!

he eyes the hand gesturing like an elephant with an arched eyebrow. isn't that a myth? )

Why would an elephant be eating a peanut?

( BOOOOOOORING. if howard ever needs help going to sleep, he'll ask izumi to perform his boring rubik's cube trick. that oughta put him in a coma for seventy years.

sarcasm sharp in howard's voice, ) He has a vendetta against Mr. Peanut. How the hell should I know?

( this ain't the "psychology of the typical pachyderm" booth, kid. )

( perfect. please pay him a tip that covers seventy years' worth of service.

that being said, izumi doesn't know the answer to his own question – nor does he care to – so he drops that subject with a shrug. )

It says here that you're teaching "a variety of things." What else is there?

( over his dead body! which may happen if izumi outdoes himself and bores howard to death.

he rubs his nose with a swipe of his hand and folds his arms across his chest. flatness is heavy in his tone, ) Paper airplanes, violin, mathematics, and poker.

( of course, he fails to mention that the violin trick he's teaching is the most difficult and impossible to accomplish (playing three octaves across four strings in a hand span), the mathematics he's teaching is infinitesimal calculus, and the poker he's teaching involves rigging the deck (plus how to talk your way out of having your limb(s) broken after being caught cheating). in short, don't expect an inspirational movie about howard's teaching and life skills, a la "dead poets society" or "stand and deliver." )

( hey, now, don't be stingy . . .

izumi hums. so how many activities out of that list have superfluous additions? probably all of them. okay—even with that sentiment on his end, he can see the appeal. people love a challenge. everyone is drawn to watch a video of a guy bicycling with a blindfold over his eyes. this is the same thing, right? )

That's a lot. Are the airplanes next? I'm interested.

( might as well have fun while he's here. this is the only weird booth he's come across. )

( a devilish smirk cuts into his cheeks, ) Only if you beat my record.

( or pay him ten bucks. either way, he's not giving away all his skills for free. just because he has the appearance of a god, doesn't mean he's willing to bestow all his knowledge, kid. he only teaches the best. )

( he worked hard for those ten bucks. isn't the skills fair supposed to be free? he's a student, for goodness' sake. izumi makes a face. )

I'd try, but I can't drink.

( says who? ~~says the organizers of the damn event, you big dummy~~ pish posh, ok, ok, alright. just beat his record, izumi, and howard will teach you everything he knows. )

We'll use apple cider vinegar as a substitute. ( a brow raises lazily. ) You can drink vinegar, right?

( come hell or high water, one of howard's lessons will send someone to the hospital! that's the howard stark guarantee, wink. )

( he doubts that he'll beat the record set by howard, but there's no harm in having a little fun. maybe he'll get close!

still, vinegar? izumi grins. )

No. Not at all.

( march event ) mad skillz

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